SHORT STORY #2... August 2022

 Short Story Prompt 2:

• A fast-food chain’s secret recipe is suddenly published online and goes viral; how do they find the thief? 

 

 

It is 6:30 P.M. I wipe my eyes, which are reluctant to stop running and watering. I knew I was tired. My pain had me awake more than half of the night. I had no idea how much work had wiped me out. Every bone in my body hurt like it was being crushed by an 18-wheeler. It was Mid-October, so my famed Halloween costume store had been buzzing with activity. Truthfully, there was no secret behind the reason my body was aching in terrible agony. However, the magic of the spooky holiday was more than worth the bustling business it produced.

Halloween had always been my very favorite holiday. I love the idea of being scared and seeing all of the children’s happy faces when you treat them to the candy that had been sitting in my toothy pumpkin bucket. I had always had an affinity for little kids but made the decision not to have them personally. I was far too independent to have to worry about having kids running circles around my head. At work, I always had the opportunity to make other kids happy. This was important to me, especially considering the hardnosed nature of the world, especially in current events.

Just sitting here at my computer, the thought of making a kid’s day better brings an almost dorky looking grin to my face. After about five minutes spent daydreaming about all of the happy children, my stomach growls as if it is begging me to feed it. Oh, shit, you dummy! I say aloud. I had an extremely negative habit of self-loathing when I was disappointed in myself and my lack of actions. I had realized that I had become so absorbed in all of my customers and the new costumes we had coming in via the shipping truck that I had overlooked eating.  This is especially bad for me when you take the fact that I had just got out of eating disorder treatment a year or so ago. As a part of my recovery, I had sworn to myself and my therapists that I would be certain to eat whenever my body was signaling that it needed or wanted some food.

I had broken that promise, and I absolutely hated that I had let myself down in that manner.  I had no time to sit here and think about how I let myself down now. Food was the first and only priority.  I slumped over in my chair and forced myself up from my comfortable office chair in a bit of a stupor. I fumbled to the refrigerator with the posture of a hunchback only to realize that the only things remaining in my refrigerator were ketchup and mustard that had to have been over a year old.

I slammed the door out of frustration, and almost sent myself flying backwards. Had I become so invested in my shop that I had actually forgotten to shop for something as essential as food? Growing up, I had always been told that you had to work for everything in life. Both of my parents were always extremely immersed in their work, so much so that they were hardly at home to tend to us as children. They spent a lot of their time immersed in worry about money, and whether or not they were able to provide for us in the same way they saw all of our friend’s parents provide for them. Truthfully, though, even they sometimes put on a façade to avoid judgement.

I had to frequently remind myself that everyone on this Earth was flawed. God made us all imperfect so that we could spend our lifetime working on ourselves and constantly becoming someone better. The fact that I have no food in my fridge would not be important, especially when I take the time to realize all that I was working with and everything I had on my plate. These were the times I was extremely grateful for the advanced time that we are living in. It was so easy to go online and order your favorite food and then having it delivered to you instantly.

It was certainly a luxury and one I was fortunate to be able to afford and participate in. Tonight, I was so exhausted I did not feel like cooking, not even a little bit. So, it was a good thing that I did not have any food to speak of at home. My eyes began to become as heavy as storm clouds as I sat here contemplating the luxury of ordering food. I needed to stop daydreaming and just place the order. My stomach seemed to agree and began growling at the simple thought of my favorite dish, shrimp jambalaya. It was one dish that made me feel like I was still home in Louisiana, and it was something that instantly brought me back there as soon as the food hit my mouth.

I opened google and just typed in the dish instead of going directly to the door dash site. Suddenly, the lines on the page started to cloud up and blur. I figured it was because I had gone without my glasses for months. I hated wearing my glasses because they gave me the worst headaches imaginable, and I hated going to the doctor even more, so I figured this blurry vision was a result of my neglect. As I refocused my eyesight, I continued to scroll the search page. What happened next literally took my breath away!

There were countless videos on YouTube featuring the recipe for my favorite shrimp jambalaya! I could not believe what I was seeing! I feel like this was something that warranted taking a second to reflect on. I know what you are thinking. Plenty of people find out what ingredients are in certain dishes and then increasing their pride by filming themselves making an exact copycat. It is the nature of the social media-crazed society we were living in. Everybody and their mama were eager to jump on the social media bandwagon and earn a little extra cash sharing things we would normally share anyway.

However, this is a special recipe that was coined in my own family. I normally would not have such an exaggerated reaction, but I felt the need to protect my family roots. This would now become a mission that I did not plan on embarking on, but it is one I would go out of my way to solve. Yes, even if it meant missing a couple of days of work. There were always other people who would not mind filling in for me.

It seems that this night would turn into an investigation, which is not something I expected. This was a time when I was extremely grateful for my friendship with my ex-boyfriend. He is the biggest computer nerd I know and would be able to help me find out who is stealing our recipe and acting as if it is their own. It was Tuesday, which meant it was his late-night shift at IBM. Although he loved what he did, he had unfortunately developed insomnia from working so many frequent graveyard shifts.

Our sleeping patterns seemed to match, so his insomnia was not a big deal to me. He got off of work at around two in the morning. I would call him at that time, and I hope that he would be willing to stop by my house to assist with the mission. I call his phone at around two in the morning. Hello? He says, sounding groggy as hell.

Hi, Jake, I say. Sorry to disturb you, but I need your help. Sure, he says. You know I am always here for you.  What’s up? You will never believe me, but our family recipe has somehow been stolen, and it is now circulating on the internet. It is in every one of my recommended pages on YouTube. I was wondering if you would be willing to come over and help me ping the person’s IP address and help me resolve this.  Sure, he says, I am leaving the parking garage and will be there in about five minutes. Thanks, I say, I knew that I could always count on you. You really are the best. As I hang up the phone, I feel that tingly feeling of love in my heart again. I truly did love him still, no matter how many times I tried my best to deny it.

I am not sure why I tried to act like I did not still love him. Perhaps it was just uncool to love your ex-boyfriend in my mind. My mind did like to play tricks on me every now and then, and I had become pretty skilled at pushing away many negative thoughts that still liked to tease me and stir around in my mind. I considered this a big win when talking about my personal accomplishments in therapy. I find myself smiling as I go over so many of my wins in my mind.  I hear a soft knock at the door. Jake was always careful not to alarm or startle me. He remembers how jumpy my body can be. It can be quite ridiculous if I am being truthful.

I open the door and am immediately greeted by the smells of aftershave and Jake’s usual Old Spice deodorant. That instantly turns me on, but I need to resist the urge. I wasn’t one to sleep with my exes, but resisting was a lot harder than I had remembered when considering past visits. Maybe I just was lonelier than I realized, but intimacy was a no go, especially considering that Jake had just started dating a new girl. She was pretty, and I fully admit to stalking her Instagram page.

It is good to see you, sweetheart, he says, gently caressing my face with his usual tender love and care. That was one of the many things that made me fall so deeply in love with him in the first place! He pulls out my new stool and sits down with intent and purpose written all over his face and in his eyes. Okay, he says let’s scroll until we find the first initial video pimping the recipe, Jake says. He was so good at this. I am estimating that it will take him less than five minutes to find what he was looking for.  

I was right. He ended up getting the fancy detection device from his bag, and all he had to do was type in the name of the video and bam! the original poster was right in front of our faces. Wow, that was easy, I say. Now we have to find a way to politely approach this person in a message of some sort. Jake had remembered that there was a message feature in the YouTube application. He quickly pulls up the username for this person and slides me the computer so I could work my magic with my words. He doesn’t dare to try to best me with my well-known writing accolades.

I swallow with anxiety before I began composing the note. I hated confronting people in any fashion, especially when it was somewhat confrontational. I can do this, I told myself. I often had to use motivational self-talk to get myself prepared to face this. Jake was so used to my own affirmation laded talk that he did not even bat an eye when I began to talk myself into telling this person that what they did was wrong, so much so that it was almost criminal.

I begin my letter…

To Whom It May Concern:

You do not know me, and you probably have no clue as to why I would message someone I do not know in the first place. Well, unfortunately, I have to tell you that what you have done in regard to my family recipe is not appreciated. You see, my grandmother worked for years in hot kitchens without the luxury of air conditioning in the summer in Louisiana to perfect her recipe. This is no easy feat, especially when you think about how the heat of our summers is comparable to burning in the pits of hell. I am glad you enjoyed the meal, don’t get me wrong, it is delicious, but it was very inconsiderate of you to pretend that you are the one who perfected and worked your ass off to make this recipe the delectable treat it is. I am going to ask that you remove the video and admit to your wrong doings. Be honest with your followers. We all respect someone who can own up to their mistakes. Despite all of this, I am glad that you have managed to spread the word about the phenomenal cook that my grandmother was. Her ability to mix flavors perfectly was uncanny and unlike anyone I had ever heard of, and I am a Food Network addict. That is saying something. I appreciate your cooperation, and I am going to ask that you never do this to any family ever again. It doesn’t feel good to be made a mockery of. Thank you for understanding, and I would fully appreciate if you were kind enough to offer me a full apology. Thank you for understanding. Reluctantly, I hit the send button and wait eagerly for a response, as I had noticed that she had been online.

Ten minutes had passed before I received a message that she had returned my email.

Dear Ms. Collins,

I would like to take the time to sincerely apologize for my grave mistake. You see, I am among the growing numbers of teens who are looking to start a career in the field of social media. I fully understand and take responsibility for my actions, and I realize that my apology is not going to make the hurt go away. Having your hard work stolen has no merit, and there is no magic wand to remove the damage that has already been done.  I have taken down the video and sent out messages to those who also copied it with the idea that it was originally mine. I know there is nothing else I can do to remedy my situation. I offer my deepest apologies. I hope it is sufficient. I someday aim to cook as well as your family.

I read her message with careful eyes and simply replied:

Sarah,

Thank you for being honest with me and removing the video.  This makes me admire your character and tells me that you are not afraid to own up to your mistakes. The culinary business is one that is extremely competitive.  I hope you find your niche and I wish you the absolute best.

Sincerely, Susan Collins

And just like that, the problem was good and solved.

 

***THE END***